WITH the international season in a strange hiatus, Cricket
Australia this week will discuss the structure of future summers
including a push to expand the Ashes to six Tests and the likely
shelving of the triangular one-day series for 2008-09.

The thorny issue of programming will be among the key agenda
items at a board meeting tomorrow.

In the short term, Cricket Australia is working to finalise the
visits of New Zealand and South Africa next summer for three Tests
each and, in all likelihood, separate head-to-head series of five
one-day internationals apiece.

In the longer term, it wants to play a Test in every state when
England tours, which last happened in Australia in 1978-79, and is
prepared to reciprocate by returning to six Tests when Australia
tours England.

The major obstacle is the close proximity of England's next tour
in 2010-11 to the 2011 World Cup in India.

"That is a current area of discussion that is still under way
and we don't know what the outcome will be," said Cricket Australia
spokesman Peter Young.

"It is known that our preference is for six Tests because it
allows us to play one in every state."

It is understood England is also pushing to change the natural
Ashes cycle so that its Australian tours do not lead directly into
the World Cup. England flopped spectacularly in the Caribbean this
year after it was beaten 5-0 by Ricky Ponting's Australians.

This issue is also complicated, not least by the fact that
England must work around the 2012 London Olympics.

Advance ticket sales for this year's Boxing Day Test against
India, though strong for a non-Ashes year, display the
extraordinary spike in interest when England comes to town. Just
over 22,000 tickets have been sold for the first day's play at the
MCG, compared with almost 67,000 at the corresponding stage last
year, when Boxing Day was sold out for England. In something of an
anti-climax, that Test was over inside three days.

When South Africa toured in 2005-06, only 11,000 tickets had
been sold for Boxing Day at the same stage.

Cricket Victoria staff held a three-hour meeting yesterday to
discuss promotional strategies for the Boxing Day Test, most of
which will be rolled out in the second half of December.

However, they are restricted in their access to India's star
players by the tourists' late arrival. Anil Kumble's team will land
in Melbourne with just enough time for a three-day encounter with
Victoria at the Junction Oval from December 20, straight after a
torrid three-Test series at home against Pakistan.

With a crowded international program and the growing influence
of financially powerful India, Australia's traditional summer
format can no longer be taken for granted. It will look more
familiar in 2008-09, with the exception of the triangular series,
which is still expected to be resurrected in future seasons despite
accusations that the format is tired and involves too many boring,
neutral games.

"We haven't confirmed the detail for next season yet, including
its structure," Young said. "We hope to be able to tell the public
very soon the broad direction we think the game will be going in,
although some detail might change. The public appeal of the
triangular series is very strong."